OUR STORY

My home in Malibu burned down on January 7, 2025. I diligently monitored the fire and maps throughout the day and into the evening. 

At 8:30 p.m., the active fire maps showed the fire miles east of our location, but when I looked out the window, it was on the next ridge over. I quickly evacuated the house, grabbing a box filled with old photographs and baby albums. By 11:30 p.m., the fire had swept through the nature preserve and up the ravine behind the house. By the following morning, the home was a heap of rubble.

We had followed recommendations to clear a perimeter around the house and had

approximately 20 feet of cement decking and brick around the exterior. The house itself was made of stucco and tile, but none of this put a dent in the destruction. Like many others, we could only get insurance through the California Fair Plan. The loss of my home was a massive financial blow as the policy did not even cover half of our home’s value and none of the

personal property. 

Most things can be replaced but what hurt most was the loss of the items with sentimental value: the ashes of our dog that passed away two months earlier that were next to the doggie door, the set of Chinese silk embroideries that were a wedding present to my parents, oil paintings from a family friend in Ecuador, hard drives with photos, the piano my kids practiced on and played every morning when I made breakfast.

I kept thinking about what i could have done differently, how I could have been better prepared. We had implemented the home hardening strategies. Our home was less than two miles from LA fire department camp 8.

As a tax paying citizen, I had a false sense of security that our city and county officials are on top of things. But the reality is, we must do everything we can to protect our loved ones, possessions and homes.

After the fire, I decided to go to Washington for a while with my children and made the road trip with my dad. On the drive, we discussed different ideas for fire prevention and what would have made the biggest impact had it been implemented before the fire. 

I grew up in the Pacific Northwest where my family owned a farm. A significant part my father’s farming endeavors was growing plant seeds used for reforestation and fire prevention.

FIREBRAKE™ has proven to be extremely effective and has been used by federal and state government agencies for decades. Our goal is to bring this technology to the private sector so we can preserve our

most valuable assets.